


how many times do i have to say it? your princess is in another tower!

by blue_roses



Series: Klance Week 2016 [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fairy Tale Elements, Klance Week 2016, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Romance, Trans Male Character, also trans girl pidge but shes not an mc, its literally a spin on princess in tower stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-08-07 21:30:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7730404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blue_roses/pseuds/blue_roses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Listen buddy, knight, pal, I’m not a princess. Haven’t been for a couple years, cause I’m a prince now. I thought about if I always have been, but the marsh isn’t a good conversation partner and I know what I am now. But you’re a romantic and want a princess to save and marry and I’m literally in a goddamn marsh. So, your princess is in another tower, can you leave now? I’m really hungry.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	how many times do i have to say it? your princess is in another tower!

**Author's Note:**

> i technically started this on the proper day for hero/villain, except it's again really loose. basically i saw tumblr user y-annah's prince knight au and flipped shit, and then i saw she had permission to do stuff off her work, and i was like i gotta write this. here's the post!! check it out!! (http://y-annah.tumblr.com/post/148477109159/despite-shiro-being-lowkey-evil-because-hes)  
> mentions of self harm are in this pls b careful <3

 Keith was in need of a princess. Most people assumed it was a romance thing, an old fashioned notion, because princess hunting had long since gone out of style. Now to rescue a princess held a larger reward an a body count. Classic sword fighting had similar treatment due to wartime, nowadays bayonets were commonplace. Keith had no real desire to marry, and if someone asked if it was because he preferred boys, which required a whole different ceremony in a large city, he’d have said yes. But then, no one did ask. So Keith was in need of a princess, because he wanted money for a stable. Using his mana exhausted him too much to do what he really wanted: to raise a pet. Not just any pet, no, but a flame beast. He personally liked winged cats or dragons, but he wasn’t picky as long as it could fly. It was his dream to soar the skies of the world, simply for the feeling of it. This wasn’t something he liked explaining though, so he simply ended it in needing a princess. 

 Of course, there had to be a tower in a kingdom surrounded by water. There was a high reward for a princess whose name he long since forgot. Apparently she had been kept in the tower after an hour grounding turned into her being kept hostage by a dragon for two years. People never left succesful, but they weren’t as broke, strong, or desperate as Keith was. So he was going to scale that goddamn tower and maybe ask the dragon if he can adopt a fire type. He could bond, he’d make it work. His only other option was the Galra Empire, and his visits there have never gone well. Though now he had the giant broadsword  he stole from there, so it could be a last resort. 

 The tower was in the middle of the lake, so Keith had to take a boat and make sure his gear didn’t get too wet. He was never fond of the sensation. The island on the lake was marshy on the shore, Keith wondered why a princess was grounded here when a serpent would easily make its home. Worst case scenario was a hydra, and that would just be plain exhausting. 

 It didn’t take him long to reach the tower. It’s fairly high, as expected, but also falling apart. Moss filled the cracks of stone, and like in the stores, there was a barred window. Keith had no idea how he was going to do this, but he thought of the sky and decided to do what was probably done in these situations: yell.

 “Hello?” Keith yelled, “Heard you needed to be rescued? I can help with that.” 

 Keith heard a voice, clearing of a throat, and saw the princess against the bars. He didn’t need to be close to feel the glare, and he was pretty sure that was not how this whole thing worked. He read records, this wasn’t normal at all.

 “Yeah, no. Don’t need it. Can you shoo now? Someone’s about to bring me dinner and I can’t have anyone thinking I’m about to be  _ rescued. _ ” The disdain was clear in the word rescue. Did the princess have similar experiences, did rescuers die? Would this even help Keith convince her to get down, because he could practically smell the pet food. 

 “Princess, isn’t the entire reason you’re in this tower because you need to be rescued?” Keith asked. The princess snorted, and Keith wasn’t good with sarcasm, but this was blatantly obvious. 

 “Listen buddy, knight, pal, I’m not a princess. Haven’t been for a couple years, cause I’m a prince now. I thought about if I always have been, but the marsh isn’t a good conversation partner and I know what I am now. But you’re a romantic and want a princess to save and marry and I’m literally in a goddamn marsh. So, your princess is in another tower, can you leave now? I’m really hungry.” The princess-- _ prince  _ clearly expected Keith to leave, as would most people. But it’s this or the Galra Empire, and Keith preferred boys if he wanted to marry. 

  “Prince,” Keith said, “I need the money. You can come back here, do what you want. But I need to rescue you, princess or not. I’ll be in your debt.” He’d bow, but the prince probably wouldn’t see. He bowed anyways, and heard the prince’s cackling before the loud footsteps. 

  “You are, pfft, ridiculous! If you can cut me up, give me some dragon level scars, it’ll make this thing more realistic. Stairs are to your right, and hurry up with it. Aren’t you going to be my  _ hero  _ after all?” Keith could hear the loud creaking off a door, probably a bit moldy, and figured that was his cue. 

 “What about dinner?” Keith asked as his hands roamed to find the door. 

 “I lied,” the prince said, “now can you  _ please  _ hurry I need some goddamn battle scars.” Keith nodded before realizing the prince couldn’t actually see him. By the time he got to the top of the winding stairs, the flush had already faded away. Something told him the prince wouldn’t let him live it down if he saw Keith blush. 

 The prince, with long brown hair, a makeshift light blue top (most likely torn from a dress), and dark brown pants. He raised a hand in greeting, Keith did the same thing. The tower room is far from royal, but the prince clearly made a sort of home out of it. Keith saw that the bars were removeable, and the prince probably climbed down for whatever he wanted.

 “So,” the prince said, “are you going to sit?” Keith sat down to face the prince, who seemed pleased that someone was listening to him. It had been two years, maybe he was getting a bit of a power trip. Keith just really wanted pet food at this point.

 “What’s your name?” the prince asked, “Also that’s a huge sword. I want to use it to cut my hair. Keep on thinking I’m getting bug bites.”

  “I’m Keith, also I have a knife,” he took out his hunting knife and put it in front of the prince, who nodded in approval. He could do this, all he needed to do was get the prince out of the tower, he had this in the bag.  

  “It’s a pleasure Keith, also I have a knife, I’m Lance.” Keith was a little confused. Why would Lance say that-- _ oh _ . It was a joke. This was why he wanted a fire beast, they didn’t tell weird jokes and have pretty hair and blue eyes. 

  Lace took the knife, crawled closer to the breastplate of Keith’s armor. Maybe it was the fact that he hadn’t been with anyone in a while, but Lance was looking nice for a strange royal from  a kingdom surrounded by water. Keith didn’t even realize Lance was cutting his hair until he saw the hair on the floor. Lance gave himself a self satisfied smirk his makeshift mirror before looking up.

 “Can I keep the knife?” Lance asked, running his hands through his hair. 

 “You don’t want to be cut with a sword,” Keith said. He felt a need to take the hair and push it to the side, no matter how soft and pleasant to touch it was. His own hair was always dirty in some way shape or form, was his hair ever like that? 

  “Hey, I know you haven’t touched decent hair in your life, but I need you to cut me. Where there are fingernail scratches.” Lance pulled his shirt out without any warning, slipped out of his pants in a similar fashion. He was lanky, so Keith couldn’t cut deep, but with the other marks they would look like claw marks to most people. Keith didn’t know about breasts much either, except for the fact that cutting near or on them was a very stupid idea. Even if there were marks there. Keith made sure his knife was sharp before coming up to Lance.

  “Why are you sharpening your knife?” Lance tried to make sure his voice didn’t shake, but Keith knew the signs.

 “Dull blades mean there’s an infection. Are you scared?” Lance looked offended at the idea, even though it was a (mostly) genuine question. The scoffing was honestly a bit much. Lance looked away for a moment before grabbing Keith’s right wrist, leading it closer to a scratch mark above his stomach. 

 “Do it Keith,” Lance said. It would have been wise to ask if he was sure, because Keith dove straight into cutting and Lance  _ screamed _ . Keith pulled back, because he did figure out continuing was a stupid idea right now. But Lance pulled him in again. This time he bit back his screams and shuddered and trembled, it was strangely intimate for Keith. Keith was also not the one getting cut up for the sake of realism. 

 By the time Keith was done, Lance was leaning against a tower wall. Keith looked around for bandages, found an old dress, and improvised. He did his best to be delicate in the process, though when Lance’s eyes widened and his mouth made an o shape, Keith did his best to look away. Which led to mistakes, Lance yelling and complaining, and Keith yelling back because he had no self control. 

 “Thank you,” Lance said, “there’s one more thing I need though. Before I’m willing to go back. Last time I got a visitor, on a dare, I heard the Thundermage was coming to the kingdom. I need you to find her and bring her here, she’s the only one who can grant my wish.” Keith felt himself jolt before he could shake it off, and it was clear Lance noticed.

  “It’s because you’re a halfling isn’t it, I saw the yellow in your eyes when you heard the name” Lance said. Keith didn’t bother to object. The Thundermage, aka Hagar of the Galra Empire, was not someone he wanted to get near. Not just because he was half, but because of who his father was. There were some things he just couldn’t risk, even for this. But there was a solution.

  “Listen,” Keith said, “I can’t go near her, but I know someone else. She’s like you, and has been developing the potions and spells for every day life. She’d require a fee, but I’m sure a prince like you can afford it.” Lance chuckled at the last part, and Keith wasn’t sure why but it made him feel a bit better about this whole quest. Then Lance’s expression turned solemn.

  “You mean--” Lance pointed at his chest-- “like  _ me? _ ” Keith nodded. It took a year of knowing her to admit it, but Pidge was much more open about it now, for the sake of her mission. Even while looking for them, she always wanted to keep her family’s legacy of helping the common people. Lance grinned, and Keith felt his hard leap out of his chest for a moment because how could someone possibly look so  _ joyful?  _ But that wasn’t of importance, right now, Keith had to explain. 

  “The thing is with her,” Keith said, “is you have to pay first. Which means returning to the castle and--”   

  “Give me a few days,” Lance said, “hell, you can visit or stay here. You’re a bit dense and odd, but you’re not bad company. Don’t make me change my mind.”

  “Of course, my prince,” Keith said it as a joke, but from the way Lance gapes, it didn’t come off that way. Plus something about it made Keith feel like he had a place, that maybe he could belong somewhere. It was a bit of a fantasy, but if he was this close to getting a fire beast, anything could happen. 

 They lived in the tower for four days. Lance cut more clothing, checked his reflection every hour, and Keith attempted to keep himself busy. He almost destroyed the tower when he tried to train, and Lance sent him outside. He’d come back hours later, and Lance would still be there, rolling his eyes. On the second day, Lance went out with him, and turned out to be incredibly skilled at ranged. Lance said it was because of archery practice, or a natural gift, Keith knew hard work when he saw it, made him admire the prince a little bit more. By the third day, Keith tried and failed to sew. Lance laughed, but helped him undo the messy stitched. When Keith asked how Lance got this stuff, he said it was because of princess activities and stereotypes. In the middle of the night, Lance looked Keith straight in the eye and said he’d see to it that Keith’s hair was washed if it was the last thing he did. Keith happened to take that very literally. It was only by the fourth day that Lance saw Keith without his armor, Keith didn’t understand why Lance wouldn’t look at him, so he put it back on. 

  Lance had fake dragon scars, some scraps of hair, and Keith was the knight in shining armor. They made a mess out of the marsh around the tower so it would look like a battleground. Even though Lance was the one that suggested it, he was the first and last to complain about the filth. Their boat breaks three quarters of the way through, and by the time they get to the castle, they’re filthy and cut up enough it was like they actually did fight a dragon. 

 The King and Queen rushed to hug Lance, and were more angry about the fact that Lance got caught with a girl when a diplomat was over than the fact that he was a boy. Keith was an outsider for most of this, but he truly felt happy for the prince with the fingernail scars. Eventually, he was bathed, thanked, given a reward, and brought to them for a private audience. Without his armor, which made him shiver randomly as if he was naked. 

 Halfway into the formalities, Lance busted in, with no tact as usual. Keith was grateful this wasn’t public, less for his sake and more for Lance’s. Only a day and a half in and he could already get sent back. He walked up to Keith, in sky and baby blues and royal gold, and stood in front of him.

 “I want you to be my knight,” Lance said. 

 “Yes,” Keith said. 

 The King and Queen did not expect a formal knighting ceremony to happen that day, Keith did not expect to feel like this was a new type of marriage (and get flustered as a result), and Lance probably didn’t expect Keith to be so flustered. It all worked out, and Keith was informed he had a stable for a fire beast of his choosing. He had ever felt more happy in his life.

  Pidge came three hours later with a bill, a spellbook, and potions, and Lance shared all of Keith’s joy. Keith thought if everything could be just like this, he could live his life relatively content. Maybe even more than content, happiness felt in reach. 

  The next morning, a dark knight from the Galra Empire kidnapped Lance at a royal breakfast. Keith put on his armor, wielded his sword, and set out to find his prince. He did hope Lance wasn’t in another tower, that would be a new form of troublesome. 


End file.
